April  30,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
379 
Will  anyone  suggest  that  the  gardener  is  acting  dishonourably  if 
he  accepts  such  a  reward?  I  think  not.  But,  further,  it  is 
urged  that  this  giving  of  “  presents  ”  necessarily  raises  the  price 
of  seeds.  If  that  is  so,  why  have  we  not  heard  a  general  outcry 
on  the  part  of  the  employer  as  to  the  extortionate  prices  which 
some  would  have  us  believe  is  the  inevitable  result  of  the  dis¬ 
pensing  of  commissions?  I  take  it  that  we  should  have  heard 
long  ago  if  it  Avas  really  so — employers  are  bj'  no  means  backward 
in  these  matters — but  not  a  AA  ord  has  been  said  on  the  subject  so 
far  as  I  am  aware.  In  conclusion,  I  would  add  that  should 
a  gardener  be  deprived  of  this,  his  only  Avay  of  making  both  ends 
meet  in  many  cases,  and  his  rightful  perquisite  as  I  see  it,  then 
it  is  time  something  Avas  done  to  obtain  for  the  profession 
generally  a  decent  living  Avage. — E.  Bishop,  Market  Harboro’. 
— — 
Superphosphates. 
In  Mr.  Comsins’  excellent  little  book  “  Chemistry  of  the 
Garden,”  the  author  says;  “  The  origin  of  phosphate  has  no  effect 
at  all  on  its  profitable  application  in  the  dissoh'ed  form.”  I  am 
bound  to  say  my  experience  does  not  agree  Avith  this  statement. 
I  find  that  mineral  S.P.L.  30  to  35  per  cent.  AA'hen  apiilied  to  the 
surface  for  Tomatoes  burns  the  surface  roots  and  also  the  stem 
Avhere  it  touches.  Dissolved  bone  does  not  injure  in  this  AA'ay, 
neither  does  bone  S.P.L.  In  the  tAA'o  latter  cases  the  roots  come 
up  thickly  and  shoAV  themselves  on  the  surface  in  a  feAV  hours 
after  the  application.  With  the  mineral  phosphate  they  do  not 
come  up  for  Aveeks  after  the  application,  and  that  is  "AA’hen  the 
phosphate  has  all  been  Avashed  doAviiAA^ards.  The  results  in  the 
fertilisation  of  the  floAvers  are  the  least  satisfactory  Avith  the 
mineral  phosphate.  I  have  an  idea  that  the  great  amount  of 
acid  necessary  to  render  the  mineral  soluble  to  such  an  extent  is 
the  cause  of  the  mischief.  I  may  add  it  is  the  same  with  a  Vine 
border  Avhere  mineral  S.P.L.  was  used  last  year,  the  roots  never 
once  showed  themselves  above  the  surface  as  they  had  done  Avhen 
either  of  the  other  varieties  of  super  were  used.  Can  Mr.  Willis 
enlighten  us  on  the  subject,  and  say  if  any  exact  trials  have  taken 
place  to  test  the  different  varieties?  I  have  a  poor  soil  to  deal 
Avith,  and  therefore  to  obtain  anything  like  creditable  results  am 
obliged  to  manure  rather  heavily.  The  manures  are  obtained 
from  one  of  the  olde.st  and  most  reputable  firms  in  the  West  of 
England,  and  there  is  no  doubt  they  are  as  good  as  can  be 
obtained. — Wm.  Taylok. 
The  FiniEces  of  the  R.H.S. 
In  turning  over  the  Journal  on  my  return  from  abroad  I 
noticed  a  statement  by  Sir  T.  Lawrence  in  your  issue  of  April  9 
to  the  effect  that  I  “  had  nothing  whatever  to  do'  with  the 
finances  ”  of  the  Society.  Permit  me  to  say  that  he  is  in  error. 
I  had  everything  to  do  with  the  finances.  Under  bye-law  94  and 
a  letter  from  the  treasurer,  I  was  made  personally  responsible 
for  all  moneys  of  the  Society.  For  nearly  eight  years  I  not  only 
drew  and  signed  with  the  treasurer  every  cheque  paid  out,  the 
thousands  of  cheques  paid  in,  but  also  prepared  the  estimates  of 
receipts  and  expenses,  and  personally  attended  to  all  business 
matters  of  the  Society.  I  AV’as  pressed  into  the  Society’s  service 
with  the  express  instruction  that  I  Avas  to  do  my  best  to-  make  it 
“  pay.”  And  I  presume  one  can  hardly  conduct  nego'tiations 
with  printers,  advertisers,  exhibitors,  bill-posters,  caterers,  rail- 
Avay  companies,  &c. — -as  I  had  to  on  behalf  of  the  Council— 
without  having  something  to  do  with  the  finances  of  the  Society, 
as  apart  from  the  purely  secretarial  work,  which  anyone  of  ordi¬ 
nary  intelligence  can  do.  When  I  entered  the  Society’s  service 
in  1890  it  AA'as  in  debt,  although  in  1888  the  Council  “  sent  round 
the  hat”  and  secured  over  £1,100  in  addition  to  its  ordinary 
income.  Everything  was  in  a  state  of  chaos;  about  £300  or  £400 
a  year  was  wasted  on  “  deadhead  ”  Fellows  Avho  had  not  paid  a 
cent,  to  the  Society  for  several  years,  and  it  took  nearly  two 
years  to  get  the  Council  to  see  the  unfairness  and  absurdity  of 
doing  business  on  these  lines.  Neither  exhibitors  nor  visitoi's 
would  come  to  the  Drill  Hall ;  the  Lindley  Library — the  care  of 
Avhich  was  thrown  on  my  shoulders  without  a  farthing  of  remu¬ 
neration — Avas  in  a  scandalous  state  of  neglect  (I  found  “  Gerarde’s 
Herbal  ”  and  other  valuable  books  in  the  cellar) ;  the  Society 
AA’as  paying  “through  the  nose”  for  everything  it  required;  in 
fact,  it  Avas  so  badly  managed  that  its  odour  in  everyone’s  nostrils 
AA’as  Avorse  than  that  of  a  Crown  Imperial  bulb. 
Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  I  became  assistant  secre¬ 
tary  in  1890,  although  Sir  T.  Lawrence  had  then  reigned  as 
President  for  three  years.  Of  course,  all  financial  matters  Avere 
technically  in  the  hands  of  the  treasurer,  but  it  is  simply  absurd 
to  say  that  I  “  had  nothing  Avhatever  ”  to  do  Avith  them.  I  again 
say  that  I  had  everything  to  do  Avith  them. — John  Weathers. 
[This  letter  shows  that  toAvards  the  re-establishment  of  the 
finamles  of  the  R.H.S.  Mr.  Weathers  has  rendered  invaluable 
assistance,  though  we  someAvhat  overstated  the  case  AA’hen  avo 
credited  him  with  the  formulation  of  a  distinct  financial  policy, 
AA’hich  (as  Sir  Trevor  LaAArence  as.sures  us)  was  evolved  by  Dr. 
Morris  on  the  then  existing  conditions. — En.] 
M'liimillaria  peclinata  — in  his 
The 
sym- 
these 
types 
atford 
Mammillaria  pectinata. 
article  on  this  genus  of 
Cacti,  at  page  ‘299, 
Mr.  Arthur  Cob- 
bo'.d  dAvelt  on  the 
beautiful  spines  of 
the  Mammillarias, 
and  Ave  have 
alAA'ays  been  ad¬ 
mirers  of  the  mys¬ 
tical  mathematical 
precision  of  the 
arrangement  of  tht) 
spines  in  plants  of 
this  genus. 
AA’onderful 
metry  of 
A’egetatiAm 
AA'ill  for  ever 
pleasure  and  sur¬ 
prise  and  intense 
interest  in  reflec¬ 
tive  minds,  and 
this  is  precisely 
AA'hy  groAver.s  or 
Cactaceous  plants 
admire  and  cherish 
them.  Mr.  Cob- 
bold  omitted  to 
mention  the  repre¬ 
sentative  Ave  figure 
on  this  page,  AA’hich 
is  one  of  the  best, 
but  Ave  are  afraid 
it  is  very  scarce  in 
English  collections. 
It  is  an  example  of 
Dr.  Engelmann’s 
sub  -  genus  Cory- 
phantha,  being 
found  on  the  lime¬ 
stone  hills  of  the 
Pecos,  from  Avhence 
it  AA’as  introduced 
to  Europe  nearly 
fifty  years  ago. 
Our  illustration  is 
from  Dr.  Engel¬ 
mann’s  “  Cactacae 
of  the  Boundary.” 
Garden  Labsls. 
Respecting  Chandler’s  label,  illustrated  on  page  325,  I 
knoAV  of  one  gardener  aa  Iio  is  using  the  penny  in  the  slot  automatic 
name  plate  machine  for  the  purpose.  These  labels  are  made  of 
aluminium,  are  drilled  each  end,  and  are  A'ery  distinct,  the 
lettering  being  embossed.  HoAvever,  Avhilst  such  labels  are  good 
for  trees  and  bushes,  they  fall  short  for  border  Avork.  The  best 
thing  for  the  latter  purpose  that  I  knoAV  of,  is  Wood’s  patent 
label,  some  thousands  of  Avhich  are  in  use  at  Aldenham  House 
Gardens.  They  are  strong,  being  stamped  from  sheet  zinc,  there¬ 
fore  last  indefinitely. — D. 
Gappy  Rows  of  Potatoes. 
Your  contributor,  “Ashleaf,”  does  Avell  to  draAv  attention  to 
this  matter.  Iii  the  last  tAvo  seasons  gappy  Potato  crops  have 
evidently  been  so  general  in  many  districts  that  the  consequent 
loss  is  scarcely  less  serious  than  from  the  “  disease.”  IMy  oavu 
obsei’A’ations  point  to  the  conclusion  that,  given  favourable  con¬ 
ditions  of  groAvth,  this  trouble  usually  arises  from  one  or  more  of 
these  causes:  (1)  Excessive  use  of  nitrates — especially  soda  or 
other  caustic  substances;  (2)  over-greening  of  sets;  (3)  exposure 
to  extremes  of  temperature.  Occasionally,  it  is  doubtless  due  to 
heating  in  clamps,  Ac.,  producing  premature  sprouts,  rubbed  off 
in  handling,  and  never  reproduced.  Hereabouts,  it  is  some  fifteen 
years  since  Ave  had  a  normal  ”  spring  and  early  summer,  i.e., 
Avithout  Juno  frosts.  But  1901-2  Avere  certainly  very  much  the 
reverse  of  normal.  On  stiff  land,  through  harsh  Avinds  and  lack 
of  moisture,  later  on,  the  clayey  nodules  Avere  just  so  many 
brick  ends,  never  sufficiently  softened  for  root  fibres  to  “get 
hold,”  hence  no  plant.  Light  soils,  being  more  friable,  had  foAver 
gappy  crops.  As  an  instance  of  the  “  nitrate  ”  effects  I  discarded 
nearly  the  w’hole  of  three  different  purchases  of  Evergood,  all 
scarred,  many  discoloured,  and  some  kept  till  June  noAer  did 
sprout,’  shrivelling  up  completely.  About  fifty  sorts  (besides 
seedlings)  AA’ero  handled  in  1901 ;  seventy  last  year.  The  propor¬ 
tion  of  misses  varied  from  5  to  50  per  cent,  in  bought  tubei’s— 
less  than  1  per  cent,  in  those  of  my  OAvn  saving,  and  these  I  could 
account  for,  as  aboA'e,— E.  Miles,  Leicester,  April  27,  1903. 
